The seedy motel, which has been closed for years, was actually named the Sunset Pacific Motel but got its nickname from its proximity to nearby Bates Avenue and its passing resemblance to the motel in the Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece 'Psycho'.

Paris resident Mr Lamouroux said: 'The idea behind this project was to cover the entire building and to think about the building as a giant sculpture (on) the scale of the urban landscape.

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'With this idea we could provoke ... a strong change in order to create some attention.'

Mr Lamouroux has made frequent trips to Los Angeles over the past 15 years.

He said he chose white because it 'could bring the most light and could cause a sort of bedazzlement.'

Complete whitewash: A man carries paint pots while walking through the interior of what used to be known as Bates Motel due its proximity to nearby Bates Avenue and its passing resemblance to the motel in the Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece 'Psycho'

Attracting attention: A passer-by stops to take a picture following the unveiling of the 'projections' prokject yesterday in LA

Explaining the name Projections, he said explained that it refers to the process of spraying the lime wash onto the building - but also that the viewer is able to project ideas and imagination on to the surfaces of the motel.

He said: 'It also creates something rather positive; perhaps the idea of a blank projection screen for our desires and wants, and for all our imaginings.'

The installation is the culmination of two years work and will be guarded for two weeks before the weather and graffiti artists inevitably reclaim the building.

Speaking to LA Observed, he added: 'It was a long process, but not that hard.

'I like the idea that we were able to have around us people who were believers about it.

'It's a great thing to be able to share a dream, starting from an idea and transforming it into a reality. For me, this project is an awakened dream that has turned into reality.'

The motel is eventually expected to be torn down and replaced with a new development.